Lockheed Awarded $600-Million Contract

Lockheed Corp. has been awarded a $600-million, 20-year contract to create a futuristic toll system for three new Orange County toll roads that will allow drivers to pay with “smart” credit cards read by electronic scanners.

The contract was awarded to the Calabasas-based company’s Lockheed Information Management Systems unit by directors of the county’s Transportation Corridor Agencies.

The toll roads, which will also feature human toll-takers, are aimed at easing congestion along Orange County’s busy freeways. The first three-mile section of the system is scheduled to open later this year. An agencies committee had recommended Lockheed for the contract last November.

The electronic system, developed by Lockheed and American Telephone & Telegraph Co., allows a driver to pay the toll at full highway speed by utilizing a credit-card-size toll-subscription card and a transmitter device placed inside the car.